HumpLinks: (Ab)normalcy returns for one night

Well, that was more like we have been expecting, wasn't it? Run out a flaccid lineup and find yourself unable to get past third base, combined with a pitching staff more prone to surrendering home runs than most, facing one of the most powerful teams in Baseball, and it's hard to fend off the inevitable forever.

So all the obvious happened. As we have been learning since May, it ain't the end of the season. Dodgers torch the Angels on what was nothing more than 3 timely hits and a walk, with one of those hits being a home run over the diminutuve Eric Young, Jr. that a Mike Trout would have caught to gloriously rob Joc Pederson. One inning of shaky pitching, mostly by the bullpen. But it doesn't take much when our side fails to score at all. Final: 4-0 Dodgers.

More of the Lost Weeks Links:

A Little Bit of Angels News

Mike Scioscia, when asked to explain why the team is playing so well since Mike Trout went down with an injury, responds with (paraphrasing only slightly): "When Mike was playing the team wasn't playing well, but now they are.".............

And here is why a fan of baseball needs to understand baseball information beyond what lies on the surface. WAR shows us that Albert Pujols is total sucktitude this year. And WAR is not alone. But looking into the numbers more carefully, you see that they back up the feelings of the LA franchise, specifically Billy Eppler and Mike Scioscia. Pujols truly knows how to still pick his spots..........

(h/t UniWatch) Emblem Source, manufacturer of officially licensed MLB jersey patches, has released the Albert Pujols 600th Home Run patch. Oddly, it looks an awful lot the Albert Pujols 500th home run patch.

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Josh Mayhood's Library of Mike Trout Hagiography

How about we do some Trout Porn, just for old time's sake? Trout will be back soon. How should the rest of Major League Baseball prepare?

For the record, I am thinking that even if Trout comes back soon, he won't be Trout again until mid-August. Which might explain why the word around the team doesn't project any urgency, anyway............

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We are in an Interleague Play series. Big deal. Just another 4 games on the schedule. Once upon a time it would have been something special. No more. Maybe never again..........

I know that you are going to be shocked to read this, but apparently there is a massive charity scam ongoing in new York City. Moneys earmarked for underprivileged and/or communities burdened by the construction of Yankee Stadium are being diverted to more wealthy and privileged recipients far from the Stadium, but very closely connected to the Charity overseers. What comes next shall be some weasily response from Yankee executives..............

Cry me a river. The Cubs are closer to normal this season, and everybody is confused. It's all the price they pay because they won the World Series last year. I would pay that price! Waah. They had to play an extra month. Waah. This year they have injuries like the rest of us. Waah. This year they don't have the miracle of 27 guys playing over their heads. The worst part? They are 1 game out of the Division lead, and a playoff spot, and we are not even a the All-Star break. The difference right now between them and the playoffs again is mathematically nil..........

Aaron Judge, already 25 years old, or Cody Bellinger still at 21 (22 in a couple of weeks). Who ya got?..........

A lot more words to explain what space here precludes me from expanding upon, which is why I was so brief yesterday. Minor League Players need to get paid. They won't. No reason for MLB to do that and MLBPA doesn't really care about the guys threatening to take the jobs away from those who are members now. I still say that someday we will have a MiLB walkout...........

How fast are guys in Baseball? A look a the top three at each position is but a summary of the full data. I know what you are wondering: whither Trout? A ways down the list at an average of 28.4 feet per second sprint speed. Go gone. Get it out of your system. Fat sarcasm. For me, I'm going to stick to wondering how it is that StatCast knows when a player is ever going their absolute fastest as opposed to merely the fastest that they observed?..........

Tim Tebow don't have to answer your stupid questions as to why he gets promoted while struggling. (Jefry Marte would love to be struggling as well as Tebow, FWIW.) Besides, whiners need to park it, Tebow is tracking up the MiLB ladder faster than Bryce Harper!..........

I, personally, am of the opinion that in last Saturday's LAA-Boston game Red Sox pitcher Fernando Abad doesn't start to step off the mound until AFTER plate umpire Ryan Blakney has granted timeout to batter Kole Calhoun. This, of course, was BoSux skipper John Farrell's beef and he argued. He got tossed. And while getting tossed there was contact between he and crew chief Bill Miller who, IMHO, did a lot to get tight into Farrell's face himself. So Farrell gets suspended. Not that I mind any of this..........

Prince Vlad. He could have been ours. Thanks for (almost) nothing, Jerry Dipoto.............

The College World Series is over, and Florida is our new champion winning 6-1. The game was tight until the bottom of the 8th, when Florida blew it wide open and sent LSU fans scurrying to the exits. But in that bottom frame there was a play that left me wondering. Florida was leading 2-1 with runners on 1st and 2nd and nobody out. A sacrifice bunt was in order. Indeed, the batter (catcher Mike Rivera) showed sac bunt while the pitcher was still looking in for signs. This happened not just on the first pitch, but on the second pitch, too. So we knew it was not a bluff. So, in this day of The Shift, why not pull 3B in closer and move SS over to cover third base? That way there is definitely a chance for a force play at third for the out, leaving runners on the same bases. Significantly improved odds for LSU. With a super-slow footed batter there is even an excellent chance for a double play. Two outs and a runner on  2nd. Damned good odds. LSU is trying to hang on. There is no tomorrow, and a College Championship is on the line. Why not?..........

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A dude from Alabama goes to a baseball game in Georgia, tries to steal a golf cart, manages to crash his slow-moving vehicle into a pole, gets caught from behind trying to run away................Holy shit! It's true!! Cody Bellinger has this father, Clay. And Clay was a member of the 2002 Anaheim Angels WS team. I had to look that up. There he is, 2 whole games..........Jake the Diamond Dog. So much to love there............I'll bet that when Salvador Perez connected with this meatball he felt ultra home free. He just looks like he swatted down an elephant...............