Halos Heaven

I was in the shower, thinking about the sense of urgency that a firing in the workplace creates in the other workers...

Mickey Hatcher was fired as batting coach for the Angels. He didn't take an AB for the team in all his time here and one could argue that his dismissal is no guarantee of an offensive improvement based on the impossibility of quantifying events outside of the chalk lines. The reality is that a former Dodgers player had to go and it was not going to be Mike Scioscia. Check back if we fall fifteen games behind the Rangers.

But a firing of a longtime and loyal employee does do something. It may not be recorded as a number in a column, but this thing it does can be described in one word: certainty. There is now a certainty in the Angels clubhouse that changes will be made of things do not change.

The firing of Hatcher might make Angels players party one hour less, hook up with three fewer groupies a month, put in an additional hour in the gym every day, buy Jobu a glass of rum, work agility drills, study more video or simply focus on the goal of winning as a team. The only number this can be manifested as is the digits under the W.

The White Sox's two game series at the Big A ends today!

Probables:
White Sox (Sale) @ Angels (?) - 12.35PM

Pregame Picks:
Pick the position of the Angels player who...
> Strikes out first
> Gets the last Hit
> Scores the 3rd Run

Pick6 picks are available for selection as well!

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Jerome Williams took the mound and took yet another step towards Comeback Player Of The Year, holding the White Sox to only 2 tough runs on 10 hits. And that second run would NOT have happened had Mike Scioscia played Peter Bourjos on PBJ Bobblehead night instead of sticking to Vernon Wells. For the absent, Wells barely missed catching up to a Gordon Beckham fly ball, one that a Mike Trout would have nabbed had Trout been in Left with a Bourjos in center. Meanwhile, Peter Bourjos went from being consigned to handing out his own bobble at the gate to pinch running for Trumbo late in the same game. Petey deserves some serious extra credit for that.

But, hey, who are we to quibble? Wells made good on the night himself going 2 for 3 with a 2 run homer to blow the game wide open in the 6th. And...lookie here!!!...Albert Pujols ripped a 3 run HOME RUN(!?) to catapult the Halos into a lead they would never relinquish!!

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This is a quick, See-Ya-Mickey edition of Halolinks:

• If Albert Pujols had hit a home run last night, the game would have been the perfect example of what I thought this season would look like...great starting pitching, timely hitting, shutdown relief, and an easy win. Santana, Pujols lead revived Angels past A's 4-0 - Yahoo! Sports. "Santana struck out nine during 7 2-3 innings of four-hit ball, Albert Pujols drove in two runs with infield singles, and the Angels rebounded from yet another shutout loss with a 4-0 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday night." I think this has only happened twice now, but Mike Scioscia's use of Scott Downs has changed slightly from last season. The change is allowing Downs to return to the mound after getting one hitter out to end the previous inning. Yesterday, Downs came into the game with two on and two outs in the 8th, retiring Johnny Gomes on a ground out to second to end the inning. Downs returned in the top of the 9th, but was replaced when he allowed a two-out single to Barton. Enesto Frieri struck out the right-hand hitting Kurt Suzuki to end the game.
• Will it make a difference? Probably not. Did it need to be done? Absolutely. Angels dismiss hitting coach Mickey Hatcher - MLB.com. "We think the world of Mickey Hatcher -- his work ethic, his enthusiasm for doing the job," Dipoto said. "But at a certain point, it becomes about the results on the field. Offensively, we're having a difficult time getting on base, we're having a difficult time hitting in situations, with runners in scoring position, etc., on down the line. We're all accountable. ... I'm included in that, Mike's included in that, obviously, Mickey's included in that, and this is a move that we're making in an attempt to jump-start an offense and to instill a philosophy that we believe has the power to last."
• Who's next if things don't improve? Analysis: A sign of Scioscia's loosening grip? - ESPN Los Angeles. "As each week and month passes, the Angels feel more like Jerry Dipoto's team and less like Mike Scioscia's team. The strongest indication of that yet was Tuesday's move -- surprising mostly in its timing -- to fire hitting coach Mickey Hatcher, a longtime friend and longtime teammate of Scioscia's."
• I wonder who the Dodgers' hitting coach is? Bobby Abreu finds his place with the Dodgers - latimes.com. "The 38-year-old outfielder entered Tuesday batting .296 (eight for 27) since joining the Dodgers on May 4, with four doubles and four runs batted in. "I feel comfortable at the plate, no problems, and I've been swinging the bat OK," said Abreu, a left-handed batter. "I'm happy to be here."
• I want to find out who the person is who created this petition and kick them in the nuts: Petition: los angeles angels of anaheim: Stop using "Buttercup" - Change.org. I agree with the petition's position (say that 5 times fast), but why...WHY did you have to have my email address on it?? Every time someone signs it, I get an email letting me know!

"Oh, such a perfect day. You just keep me hanging on."-Lou Reed

Today the Angels continued to play their role as our crazy, codependent ex-girlfriend/boyfriend. In true 2012(some would even say 2011) fashion, they give us just enough of a pitching gem or monster offensive performance to make us crawl back for more, ignoring the lessons to be learned from the past, and setting us up for the sting of future failure. They are savvy enough to know that one surefire way to make the fans forget about a demoralizing loss the night before, is to dish out some shutout baseball of their own the next day. That is exactly what they did, so we might as well enjoy the Angels while they're being nice to us and buying us flowers. Who knows how long it'll be til they forget our birthdays and only come around when they need to "borrow" money.

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One thing besides the Angels getting shutout that you can count on are Halolinks. Except maybe tomorrow since I'll be on an airplane heading to Orange County to nab my soon-to-be triple-A all-star Peter Bourjos bobblehead. Anyway, here's today's links, we'll worry about tomorrow later:

• And yet another nobody pitcher tosses a shutout against the Angels: Athletics 5, Angels 0 - MLB News - FOX Sports. "''I don't know what it is,'' said (Tyson) Ross, who has given up just six runs over 25 2-3 innings at Angel Stadium in his career. ''I feel comfortable on that mound, with the backdrop, everything. I'm able to get on top of hitters and get some action early in the count.'' Here's a hint; It's not the mound. Another hint? It's the team you're throwing against! Anyone else getting tired of these quotes from Scioscia? ''This team is too good to be shut out as much as we've been shut out this season,'' Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. ''I think we had better at-bats than it's going to show in the box score. ... It's going to be a grind. There's only one way out of the hole, and that's to grind, inch by inch.'' For starters, why not put the best players on the field? In 2010, Peter Bourjos was good enough to move gold-glove centerfielder Torii Hunter to right field. Are the Angels saying that Bourjos was good enough to move Hunter, but isn't good enough to force Vernon Wells out of left field? Okay, I get that Hunter's bat wasn't replaced in the batting order with the move to right, but someone's was...Hidecki Matsui took a seat, and so did Bobby Abreu when Bourjos started playing full-time.
  
• Oakland Athletics at Los Angeles Angels - May 14, 2012 - MLB.com. "If eight shutouts in mid-May seem like a lot, it is. It's not only the most in the Major Leagues, it's double what anybody else in baseball has put up. And it's not only the most the Angels have been shut out through the first 36 games in club history -- no team has had more through that span since the 1907 Brooklyn Superbas (now the Dodgers), according to the Elias Sports Bureau. "That's a lot of shutouts," left fielder Vernon Wells said. "Obviously, it's not something you expect, especially at this point in the season. We haven't played that many games to have that many shutouts." Uh, yes you have Vern.
  
• Oakland's Ross delivers Angels' 8th shutout loss - Yahoo! Sports. "For all of the Angels' offensive problems, their No. 2 starter's struggles might be even more worrisome. Haren didn't make it out of the fourth inning of his last start when his back tightened up, resulting in the three-time All-Star's shortest start in seven years. He was no better against the A's, his former team, allowing a baserunner in each of his first five innings and finishing his six innings with four walks." If the team can't hit, and now they seem to be having trouble pitching, this is going to be a LONG summer. According to this article: Pitching without a net - ESPN Los Angeles. Haren is still dealing with back trouble, "Haren has been dealing with some lower-back stiffness in his past two starts and his stuff isn't quite as crisp, but in a typical season, an offense would be working with enough flow to give you the occasional breather from the heavy lifting. Haren gave up a couple of runs in the fifth inning to put the Angels down 4-0 and it felt like the lights had turned off at Angel Stadium."
• In case you haven't heard: Hunter leaves Angels after son’s arrest - Angels blog : The Orange County Register. "Angels right fielder Torii Hunter left the team Monday, the same day one of his sons was arrested in connection with a sexual-assault investigation in Texas."
• In case you haven't heard - Part 2: Bryce Harper of Washington Nationals hits first major league home run - FOX Sports. "Harper is the youngest player in the majors - and, at 19 years, 211 days old, the youngest to hit a homer since Adrian Beltre of the Los Angeles Dodgers connected when he was 19 years, 171 days old on Sept. 25, 1998, according to STATS LLC." He's also the youngest to take a curtain call after his first home run.
  
• I read this headline The Royals aren’t cursed… they’re stupid - HardballTalk, and thought, "The Angels aren't bad...they're stupid". Major league players are the best in the world, no doubt about that, right? But what do the people in charge of those best players have to do to get where they are? Shouldn't they be the best in the world too? It's frustrating, and I hate to beat a completely dead horse again, but the Wells trade is a great example of world-class frustration for fans. Everyone knew that deal was bad, why didn't the guys in charge? Now, over a year later, everyone knows Wells shouldn't be in the lineup everyday, what are we as fans missing that the guys in charge know?
  
• College pitcher Chris Gilmore wins $1 million in MLB 2K12 ‘Perfect Club’ challenge - Yahoo! Sports. "My athletic director [Jeff Carr] says I throw like Dan Quisenberry," Gilmore said with a chuckle." That's funny because I throw like Dan Quisenberry too. It's just that Quisenberry died in 1998. Also, doesn't Kate Upton own something other than that black dress? I'm not complaining, she looks great, but it's got to be pretty shabby about now.
  
• John Axford needs a refresher course in the Scioscia school of Cliches: Axford: 'I put my wife into contractions'. "I put my wife into contractions with my performance tonight!" he wrote. "So I had to run to the hospital. The streak is over so now you can talk about it. The luck I've had in the past didn't show up tonight! All I can do is begin another streak and keep my head up! Cliché…cliché…another cliché. Gotta go! Love, Ax." Doesn't he know he can't use the word "cliche" when using cliches??
  
• Strat-O-Matic World Record Attempt - the Strat-O-Matic Game Co. "Carow, age 32 of Farmington, MN, was crowned the Ultimate Strat-O-Matic Fanatic at the Company’s 50th Anniversary Celebration last year. Despite playing for just 21 years, Carow’s impressive credentials include: over 10,000 games played, sleeping through his prom after an all-night Strat-O marathon, and playing Strat-O-Matic on his honeymoon with his first wife." I once played Strat in a motel room in Phoenix. With another man. It was a dark time in my life.
  

Final Score in Anaheim: Major League Team in 2nd Place: 5 ...Angels: Just Another Goose Egg.

Will the last season ticket holder who storms out of the stadium in disgust over the zombie walking flesh pretending the glorious Sciosica Aughts are still at hand please, PLEASE turn out the lights...

Dan Haren threw 106 pitches in 6 innings. That is going to gas you faster than anything else and it is looking like a long long season ahead. Perhaps Dan will look good at the trade deadline. Maybe Ervin Santana too...

Did I say trade deadline? Last night in studio on Angels Talk, during the break, Brian Ilten of Angelswin.com, Eric Denton of LA Angels insider dot com and myself were guests of host Jason Brennan and we all tried (in vain) to explain to Morgan Spokny that fans don't start discussing the Wild Card this early in the season.

After tonight, Angels fans may be ready to discuss rebuilding the whole franchise. There was nothing redeeming in this game save for its conclusion and even that lingered out a little too long.

To brighten the mood, allow me to congratulate TURKS TEETH on becoming a father on Mother's Day.
Andrew aka TURK, his daughter, born Sunday, and wife are all doing fine - or at least they were when he emailed us the news before tonight's game.

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