HumpLinks: Norris nips own fail in the Bud

Jesse Chavez ran through 5 solid innings before breaking down in the 6th and exiting with 2 runs scored, 2 runners on base, still 2 outs on the board, and frustration on his lips. But he still had the lead and Blake Parker would hold onto it for him. Had it not been for Bud Norris loading the bases in the 9th (with the tying run on 2nd and winning run on 1st and one of the games most dangerous hitters at the moment, Alex Avila, at the plate with a 3-0 count), the game would have felt like a pretty solid victory to open the road trip.

Sudden thought to self while watching the game: when Albert Pujols gets a 3-0 count, does he even need to look down the third base line for the signal to have the go-ahead and swing at anything good? Or have the managers already spoken to him years ago and told him that he always has that go-ahead?

Second thought to self while watching the game: who the fuck is the whiny shit who calls into the broadcast station to complain to that station about a frustrated baseball player - an employee NOT an employee of that broadcast station and NOT anyone over which that broadcast station has any control - to cry about accidentally hearing the honest language coming out of that frustrated athlete in the brief heat of the moment???

Lost Weeks Links:

A Little Bit of Angels News

Mike might be sidelined, but he still had a kick-ass May. Here are the 5 Hall of Famers he surpassed in career WAR last month. That list includes the phenomenal Kirby Pucket, people.........What would a team of all Mike Trout look like? Well, they would look like the current 2017 Houston Astros..........Mike Trout no longer #1 All-Star vote getter in all of AL, but still way out ahead of #3 and #4 in outfielders..........Speaking of ASG voting, Dan Szymborski has a funny idea (albeit based on a not-s-funny premise)............

A little bit of clarification. After seeing some conversation concerning what one would do with an historic baseball, I would like to point out that although the fan gave back the Albert Pujols #600 ball for free, he did not go away empty-handed. He was, in fact, gifted with some of the things a few of you would have asked for. For starters, the kid took a beating just catching the ball: "...Sticking my glove out and it fell right into it. Next thing you know I’m on the ground, people all over me and my brother and dad pulling people off..." And look at the massive escort he and his family got out of his seats (the MeGustanLosDeportes twitter video in the link). That's why I would want to shed that ball ASAP. The kid needed half the cops in the stadium to get to safety. He got a VIP tour, met a lot of fun people, was treated well, and was then gifted some nice LAA swag: "The Angels presented Steffel with a signed jersey, additional team autographs, tickets and the promise of an opportunity to meet Pujols again later in the season while he and his friends take on-field batting practice."..........

If J.C. Ramirez has new-found confidence in any pitch, he should be using those pitches in the first inning or two of his outings...........

Cameron Maybin might be back for the weekend series in Houston...........

Christmas swag, in June. Because we don't get to have baseball in December..........

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Ballparks are converting to LED lighting. Great cost savings over time, including savings on ongoing maintenance (Next time you are at the ballpark, take a moment to stare at the scaffolding of the light standard in left field, and think about what goes into replacing one of those bulbs!). If it's anything like I went through recently to convert my entire home, shopping for the correct kind of LED light is a bastard..........

Ryan Howard's career: killed by the shift..........

Back in 2012, the STL Cards got our 19th pick in exchange for us getting to watch Albert Pujols' 500th and 600th home runs in  an LAA uniform. They used it on Michael Wacha. Not a bad pick, but no Alex Wood.............

StatCast has already changed baseball, and promises to continue changing baseball. I am totally fine with the high priesthood holding back data until they get it right. I am totally not fine with anybody thinking about holding back data until they get it right for their own predispositions. Sabremetricians are not without their biases................

Somehow, amazingly, the Houston Astros' lucky streak all ran out in one late, fateful, inning..........

You never realized that there was so much potential strategy to be gleaned out of where a batter might drop their lumber as they race to first base..........

Defensive Metrics (UZR here) continue to be re-tooled. This year's updates still don't inform me as to what happens when a spotter notes a hit ball location of over the fence...........

Time change. And with the changing times come new, more compelling, rivalries. Like Rangers and Blue Jays. Dodgers and D'backs...........Unless you are ESPN, where it's still Yankees-Red Sox...........

Deep read on time travel what if? What if you took some of today's ballplayers and sent them back in time to play in the MLB in earlier eras? Baseball Prospectus truly grinds through a lot of variables on their way to their interesting conclusion: today's players would crush it, and they wouldn't actually have to go that far back in time to do so. It's worth reading on your own and enjoying the journey........

This one, however, is far more odd. Most teams really don't like playing home games during the week. So it's good to play road games during weekdays and home games at home.Schedulers, get on that, would you?..........

ESPN is all over it. Amazingly, there seems to be a trend away from pitchers throwing complete games. Call me crazy, but ESPN should investigate that whole bullpen thing...........

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