Thor’sLinks: Whatever, Trevor...

Aren’t we all glad that Spring Training exists to work out kinks and just get yourself into game shape? That for reals comes much later? That’s certainly what Trevor Cahill must be feeling about now. As one of our hoped for rotation anchor points, his debut yesterday was a chance to get excited. And it seemed exciting enough after the first inning. 3 up/3 down and a pretty quiet 11 pitches.

Then came inning #2: walk...walk...single...walk...single...done with 2 runners left behind, both of whom would later score. 3 outs, 2 hits, 3 walks, 5 runs scored all earned. An ERA of 45.00.

Before we all panic, allow me to predict that this ERA will go down. I’m pretty good that way. You are welcome.

So slide yourself into these Everybody-Scores-In-Spring-Training-HaloLinks:

A Little Bit Of Angels News

Excep tfor all this “wasting a generational talent” bullshit, Tom Verducci drives directly to the point of how the Halos need to improve their offense. Get men on base. And especially get men on base in front of Mike Trout. The question remains, though whether or not Skipper Brad has the resources to fix the problem.........

Jared Walsh and Kaleb Cowart. Two old buddies trying to two-way their way into a permanent MLB gig............

Tyler Skaggs, LAA Music Man......I’m gonna start calling him ‘Boz’......I got big hopes for Boz this season. It’s time......But, WTF? The Halos don’t have a modern media system in their clubhouse???...........

Ty Buttrey turned a corner last season. Here is how. Let’s hope that corner remains turned...........

Trout Porn: Nothin’ but net?............

Everywhere In Baseball

In all my years, I cannot say that I recall any articles discussing how the existing generation of baseball decision makers needs to figure out how to adjust for Bay Boomers, or for Generation X, or Gen Y, etc. What the hell is it that requires an adjustment to work with Millennials?...........

In some places MLB is taking baby steps. Here come the RoboUmp tests...........

In other places we are beyond baby steps. It’s now huge strides time. MLB is launching live video feeds and real-time statistical data to sportsbooks around the globe with the 2019 season. This certainly will increase eyeballs (and ad revenues?) for MLB. I wonder what the Feds and States are going to have to go through with this newfangled ability to wager on MLB games via sportsbooks beyond their authority, using the readily accessible proxy servers out there?...........

I recall posing the challenge that instead of complaining about service time manipulation, why aren’t we seeing suggested solutions? I shouldn’t have asked. FanGraphs takes a whack, and holy balls is it convoluted. I’m surprised they didn’t come up with some 5-character acronym for it. Why can’t we seek something simple, such as eliminate the concept of “MLB service time” altogether and just set a calendar limit on entry draft initial contracts? Like, hey, you draft a kid, sign him, and have 6 years to get him into the majors before he becomes whatever comes next (right now in the CBA that is being arb eligible, but what if we cleaned up the arb system, too?)...........

You know you have gone uniform crazy and crossed the line when you have to have fashion store displays assembled to help your players keep things coordinated..........

I cannot come to a conclusion. Is Rob Manfred the sport’s greatest liar, greatest dimwit, or worst public speaker? A lot of the forces that are applied to modern baseball came from outside the MLB, and the resource base of that information machine has only exploded in the past 10 to 15 years. So when Manfred tries to spin some sorry excuse about some technical aspect of the game, and that resource engine rises up and proves otherwise, how is it that Manfred acts like it’s still 1965 and whatever he says will be carved into stone by the media for all of us fans to meekly follow? To this day, in spite of all factually, scientific, cross-checked and admitted evidence to the contrary, Manfred is still in denial about his own balls...........

Kris Bryant remains really pissed that owners are not handing over all their money like the old days. Somebody should remind him that he belongs to a union, one that helped fashion the economic framework that he find so frustrating. And then ask him if that extra seat on the bus during Spring Training is coming in handy?...........(By the way, there is a statement in that article to which I object: “Ticket prices have little to no bearing on player salaries. If that were the case, noncompetitive teams or teams that cut payroll would also lower ticket prices, but that doesn’t happen.” No. Noncompetitive teams still have no competition for sports fanaticism during the summer. It’s not as if a Kansas City Royals have to battle in an open market against some Topeka Tornado franchise for MLB dollars. Even when a team is bad, good teams and marquee players still come in to town. And even when teams are bad, even when the more committed fans resent them, they still get enough seats and suites sold via corporate tax write offs that they don’t have to go begging for attention.)..........

I met Tommy John in person one time, he was ahead of me checking out of the same Newport Beach hotel. I would have asked him a thing or two and learned more about his surgery story but it was the morning after my wedding and we had other things to be doing............

Manny Machado is one sensitive dude............So is Kenny Lofton, but at least Lofton has a smidgen of a point.............

I would suspect that the first requirement for becoming the National League Most Valuable Player, would be to actually be on the roster for a National League team. Not so for Bryce Harper..............

Our next oddball ST ‘injury’ comes from Brandon Nimmo, who took himself out of action via self-induced food poisoning. Since he was his own culprit, undercooking his chicken, the Mets are gonna have to call in somebody’s grandma to teach the young man how to cook...........

Vernon Wells is not the guy to be bragging about his baseball prowess...........

Ladies and Ladies, I give you pro baseball’s first all-female broadcast team...........And also in media, changes afoot up on the bridge of the mothership...............

Hot Stove

Harper and the Giants are a thing. The Giants have stepped up and promised the mythical 10-year deal.....And this ain’t just coming from some Front Office General Manager flunky. This is coming from “top brass”.....About the only thing that could stop them now is Smash Mouth..........So Dodger fans, Machado the left of you and Harper to the right??..............

I love me some Nolan Arenado. I, too, would have wished he wanted to return to his roots here in OC and save the LAA 3B futures. And I am happy that he is going to get paid a ton of money, and that he is happy to be long term in Colorado. And I am happy, too, for the Rockies and their fans. We all know too well the bummer risk of losing one’s franchise player. So, yes, it’s a win all around. The one thing I take exception to is the phrase “...Arenado for receiving the contract he deserves, Colorado for paying a player his worth...” If there is one thing we have learned about mega contracts over the past few decades, it’s that it is always premature to assign terms such as ‘deserves’ and ‘worth’ at the front end. Time tends to level out the hype and instill some serious introspection. Except for baseball writers and contemporary players. They never get to that point of introspection ...........

The Duffle Bag

The Nationals held tryouts for their bullpen cart driver opening..........This year’s Taco uniforms are revealed!...........Newman and Kramer Bobblehead Night, featuring Newman and Kramer bobbleheads that look more like George and Elaine..........Dodgers dumping dairy..........I like watching Spring Training games from the stands, too. How come I ain’t gonna be an All-Star when I grow up?...........Bejeebus! I always had to pick my baseball bats out of a large tub............Yu Darvish poking fun at the Cubs fiscal restraint. Sure, it’s funny. But after getting paid $20M to show up for only 40 innings pitched, Darvish can afford his own interpreter............