HumpLinks: Bourjos is Ballin’

I am so glad to be home. That southbound air traffic from San Jose to Orange County can get so backed up. Some trips you feel lucky to make it at all.

But I got back early enough to gift you a better amount of time and attention. Hopefully, I get all this out of my system before Opening Day. (Yes, you will have one full week of DIY linkage this Spring. Coming up.)

But not today! Dig thee them Springtime-Surprise-In-Tempe-HaloLinks:

A Little Bit Of Angels News

Peter Bourjos is having one hell of a time in Tempe. He is among the team leaders in AB’s, leads the team in hits, doubles, home runs, runs scored, RBI and steals. And he has a slash line going into the weekend of .524/.524/1.048 with an OPS of 1.571. That SLG? Only one other player in all of MLB this Spring has anything better. Same with OBP. And nobody with as many AB’s has a better BA...........

Albert Pujols put in his seasonal debut at 1B.....This is what he will do unless Justin Bour ignites..............I see they put Pujols’ locker next to that of David Fletcher. That’s probably so that Fletcher can take Albert under hi wing and coach him up on infield defense...........

Mike Trout is still fast. In a critical game, you could have sent him there..........

This Mike Trout tampering thing is spinning in circles. The MLB has already dec ided that, yes, what Harper is doing violates the CBA. They are looking into things so that they understand “context”......Tony La Russa steps in and declares that this is ‘disrespecting’ the Angels. So not only are we violating written rules, but unwritten rules.....But did La Russa tamper by calling out Harper for tampering?....Whatever, the media loves the chaos of it all. Makes for good type...........

This is one outlook on the Angels offseason moves and their impact on 2019 fortunes that sums it all up as...um...un-good. Most intriguing is the take on Martin Maldonado versus Jonathan Lucroy. That’s a Maldonado that remains without a job. Before you go nuts, though, the author lives in Portland and follows the Giants so his information is gathered using methods no better than mine doing this...........

This outlook is a little better, giving us a “B” on the offseason..........

Somebody is reading my stuff. It was just yesterday that I was reminding that our Justin Upton is not old................

This Taylor Ward feature emphasizes his move from C to 3B as his pathway to the pros, just to get his bat into the lineup. Which smells like a reclamation project to me...............

Everywhere In Baseball

Oh this can’t be right. The Nationals have already decided to ban backpacks from games. Because they want to keep fans safe. Now a separate company is looking to make a buck of this situation, by setting up lockers outside the stadium which fans can rent in order to store their backpacks. Now, in the interest of all that fan safety, we need to ask if the Nationals will make every effort to manage their fan traffic in order to prevent their fans from using those lockers because fan safety demands that we avoid the possibility of explosive devices harming large crowds............

Ah, man, this is tragic. Tom Seaver has been diagnosed with dementia and is retiring from public appearances. We lost my mother-in-law to dementia and I went through the entire process with her, meeting and interacting with many seniors suffering memory disease. It’s a tragedy for so many people............And, Lou Brock is suffering health struggles, as well..........

Guys. Really. It’s NOT “manipulating” service time. It’s a power clearly delineated and granted to franchises by the MLBPA. So it’s more accurate - and unbiased - to call it “managing” service time...........

Hmmm. Maybe I was wrong again. Maybe Bryce Harper’s athletic career HAS peaked..........

Predictably, David Price is not a fan of being put on a clock. But there is one point that he calls out which makes sense to me, a point of which I was unaware. Under the rules proposed, all that a pitcher needs to do is step off the mound to reset the clock and gain more time? So, as Price asks, what’s the point??............

This is ONE impact of modern analytics which requires that some official declare a state of national emergency. Traditional batting practice is dying. Teams are cutting back on outdoor BP and moving it into indoor cages. Pre-game BP should be a fan entitlement. We need a federal law to make outdoor BP mandatory. And while we are at it. there should be no restrictions allowed concerning fan attendance at any ballpark wherein participates an MLB team enjoying federal exemption from anti-trust laws............

Offers are starting to arrive for Dallas Keuchel. Weird, though. The choice between a one-year or a two-year?..........

I already linked to this ongoing report from TheRinger on Reds scouting reports, but it voluminous and I think it’s good to put up again for the weekend. I do it today because as I read through it myself it occurs to me that it’s a little too easy to laugh at scouting misses. Please know that in your lifetime you will be giggling at sabremetric-driven prospecting failures............

Do you know what Arte is NOT doing a lot of? Spend dead money. I think he well-established at the upper end of history here (GMJ, Jr., Hambone, CJ...). I think he has learned risk aversion...........

Luke Heimlich might be done in Mexican baseball already..........Idiot ex-MLB player and coach Jacque Jones found guilty of doing idiot things..........

The Duffle Bag

UniWatch links us to a Youtube documentary on relief pitchers, and calls out the silly state of bullpen carts of the era. I think that is the least interesting aspect. Not even as interesting as the hot dog story..............Yeah. Adam Jones might be a great guy, but his baseball skills are nothing special anymore.............Stadium castles in the sand. The next time you go to the beach, make that a thing!..........