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!
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!!
Dan Rubenstein heads to Columbus, Ohio to meet Hall of Fame legends Ricky Henderson, Frank Thomas, Johnny Bench, Wade Boggs, Rod Carew & more as they play contest winner Tim Wisecup in the Pepsi Max Field of Dreams.
This is a quick, See-Ya-Mickey edition of Halolinks:
"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.
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:
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.
Game Thread Roll Call: justaguy92320, Angelsfan015, Quad Fin Rider, angelsfan7, LanaBanana, cath619, halofolife, eyespy, Quinlan's Goofy Swing, hobbit_86, sheisalovelyladyandmyapologiestoher, Haloredistheonlyred, Kernel, HalosFanInNorCal, ladybug, 1964, SCHalo, racebannon, aces666high, MH252525, Oxygen48, Halos2008, bbasher103090, ~MMP~, SLOfan, lightupthehalo29, Spird, opiejeanne, chairmanofthebar, LAA of A Fan, Commander_Nate, MDTitansFan2, supermarcio, chiliv06, smithy610, Jack Frostt, Angelsrthebest101, TheGodofRuns, avinaj80, All Hail Erstad, bc56274, michael23333, angelsownredsux, Figgi4life, nwstud31, JeffJoiner, Caseys Kiss of Death, lifegrind, Unclearnie, Halowitz, angels_rally_mom, HaloDanO, waters96, Brody, AngelsHIMYMfan, Halo Hurricane, IWishWeStillHadTimSalmon, Halofan1043, big0lbad, RexTookMyStash, Jason Andrew Martin, elchicodelgado, Big Easy Halofan, frmysteryman, the king of CERA, LifetimeAngelsfan13, Hoppity Hooper, Marine Layer, PhiSlamma, Halofan4ever, Halostradamus, HALO Qualified_HALOS fan, Zaius, miketrout, Evan Gillette, 5thStarter, H.R. Machine, ihigh, YOUknowulovetheIE, Oski Bear, maze88, Morales8, cuscus85, Persi W, migfig, Hutch83, KB_24, TheTypingFiend, Ed@northridge, BigA#24, LightThatBabyUp, flyinfsh, Rally Manatee
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