HumpLinks: Add a dash of Pujols

We got to add a dash of Albert Pujols to the ST recipe yesterday. It was a good day. Zero GIDP and he handled himself at 1B. Things continue to look up!

But since it was AP Day, we get to raise some AP stats. Coincidentally, those showed up yesterday as well..........He has had his ups and downs..........Looking at his career OPS track, we are the lucky ones who have enjoyed his downs..........Editorial on that OPS chart reveals are basic thinking process as fans..........But Pujols is saved from utter embarrassment, by “Saint Michael”.

Ok, all the “bad Pujols” stuff is out there. Let’s get it out off our system. The guy is due for an uptick season and we shall enjoy it. It’s on Arte’s dime, after all, and not ours. (Well, actually, FOX Sports’ many dimes.)

Swing into these Not-So-Fat-Albert-Spring-Training-Links:

A Little Bit of Angels News

Trout Porn: Keep in mind that before he got hurt last year, Mike Trout (now the highest paid MLB player, for all those out there who want to call Arte ‘cheap’.) was on track for a season of 55 home runs, 7 triples, 48 doubles, 190 total hits, 159 walks (intentional or otherwise), 35 stolen bases, and a slash line of .337/.461/.742 with an OPS of 1.203. Except for total hits and total triples, every one of those values are at least 20% better than his career averages. So it’s reasonably to say that Trout was on pace for a breakout year by even his own standards, and one off the greatest seasons by anyone, ever. And Mike is just now blossoming into his prime seasons. So I would suggest that the odds of Trout doing something like that across an entire season is actually better than 88 hundredths of 1 percent..........(h/t reddit) Isn’t it great that Mike Trout did not stick as a pitcher?...........

My two takeaways here: Eric Young Jr. drives a British vehicle, one with a right-hand steering wheel*...and Eric Young Jr. doesn’t know how to deal with the auto bluetooth connection in said British vehicle and how to keep it from interfering with his podcast...........

Welp, now we have that over-saturation of media coverage we always wondered about. We are seeing things like breaking down Shohei Ohtani after only 3 ST games......And the whole world is watching his every move..........

Look, people, I’m an old guy. You know that. I don’t hide it. That means that my athletic career, for what it was worth, was a very long time ago. About 1963 to 1975 to be exact. And I knew this even way back then, that after one does the weight work it’s best to do laps in the pool to stretch the muscles back out and retain flexibility. It should seem that in 40-50 years later this flexibility thing is an option that maybe ballplayers need to focus on more in order to improve health...........

In ranking every team’s ace, lining up all 30 from bottom to top, Garrett Richards comes in at #24. It’s just one person’s opinion, sure, but considering Richards’ health problems the past couple of seasons it’s not unreasonable for his to drop mindshare. It’s very easy to forget things like his having the best spin rate, etc. If he stays in the rotation, he will easily defeat that low opinion..........

Jonesing for outfield phenoms...........And Jewelled pitching phenoms..........Think of this as the LAA social media maven working on their regular season game while going through spring routines, and not as if ST scores actually mean anything............

Everywhere In Baseball

Oh this is more than fair. And long overdue. By now you should know that I have no problem with teams not falling over themselves to spend money on this Free Agent class as has been done in past years. And I have been just as clear that tanking is a shitty way to rotate into a competitive cycle because fans still get forced to pay premium dollars for game experience and still suffer idiotic MLB blackout rules. And when everybody tanks nobody gets an edge, anyway. I also take a lot of dumps on MLBPA chief Tony Clark. But that doesn’t mean that I am pro-business MLB owner fan-boy. Just like I think it sucks that MiLB players are treated like indentures servants, I think it sucks doubly so that franchises force other franchises to give them money and then refuse to take that money and use on the product they put onto the field. Oakland has been top of mind or this crappy behavior for years. This year the MLBPA is going after the tanking teams. It’s about time. It’s obvious, and indefensible, that some teams are taking rev sharing money while, at the same time, gutting their roster and lowering payroll. Step 1 should be a salary floor both for individual players and for the 25-man roster overall. Those kinds off rules don’t exist. Instead, what does exist are rules within the CBA that kind of limit the ways as to how MLB franchises could actually spend the rev sharing monies. So that’s pretty stupid. What would also be pretty stupid would be Commissioner Manfred openly siding with teams like the Marlins at the expense of teams like the Yankees and Dodgers. But sit tight.........

Ex MLB star, ex-Yankees GM Bob Watson turned down a chance at a new kidney. He is almost 72 years o age. “I’ve lived a real good life.” Wow...........

The Twins are bringing in Prince for joint marketing. See? Open your promo minds, people! The Angels are sitting on a goldmine! Social Distortion and No Doubt. The Righteous Brothers and Dick Dale. Manic Hispanic and Fu Manchu...........

Some uniform fun courtesy of UniWatch...........MiLB cow unis..........MiLB bratwurst unis..........MLB St. Patrick’s Day unis..........(Fun MiLB unis rank right up there for me along with fun MLB ballpark foods every season!)..........

Deadspin points us to a pretty damned good deal on OTT, linking Direct TV NOW to Apple TV..........In other media news, we can’t have highly vocal anti-PEDs guy Bob Costas sharing the Sunday Night Baseball mic with ARod!............Social media is such a sticky trap...........

Hot Stove

Tim Lincecum looks to be hooking on with the Rangers. And there is a good chance that his best fit would be as a closer. I’ll say it before you will. “Ryan Madson”.........

Mike Napoli still has a job..........

Those unsigned guys playing in their own ST camp, hoping for any form of job offer seems to be Baseball’s Island of Misfit Toys. Some names might have cause. A Neil Walker is still young enough and serviceable enough to be infield depth anywhere. But is (or at least was) asking for a 2-year, $20 million deal?..........

The Duffle Bag

Braves to top prospect Ronald Acuna: wear your hat right, dude.............Yeah, Russell Wilson would be the guy in MLB who would know what it means to take a hit..........That Jake Burger ST injury I linked to this week will end up costing the young prospect his entire season..........The Red Sox are quickly back to their chest-thumping ways. Next it will be “nobody believed in us”, followed by some new jackassery slogan. Perhaps even a new community dance move..........Seattle Seahawk quarterback Russell Wilson, living every little boy’s dream..........

(* Just kidding about the right-handed car thing. I do realize that the video is flipped. No need to snark.)