Halos Heaven

Dodgers-Angels Preview - FOX Sports on MSN
The Angels, winners of 17 of 23 in the Freeway Series, will send the struggling Ervin Santana (6-5, 3.91 ERA) to the mound Tuesday. After winning five straight starts, the right-hander has gone 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in his last two outings."There's nothing I can do but keep focused and keep working hard,'' he said.  Trying to avoid matching a season-high five-game slide, the Dodgers (38-31) will counter Santana with the red-hot Clayton Kershaw (7-3, 2.96), who has gone 6-1 with a 1.82 ERA in his last eight starts.

Secret weapon: Bobby Wilson - Los Angeles Angels Blog - ESPN Los Angeles
Angels pitchers have performed best when Wilson is behind the plate. His catcher's ERA is easily the best on the team at 2.62. Granted, it's a small sample size, but the pitchers who have thrown to Wilson gush about his ability to call and frame pitches.

Bobby Wilson...the next Jeff Mathis.
MORE LINKS AFTER THE BREAK...

Best decisions of the past year - Jon Heyman - SI.com
With that in mind, here are the 20 best decisions over the past 365 days. (NOTE: the best free-agent signings were listed in this space two weeks ago, so this will be the best decisions in the non-free-agent division.)

Out of the 20 best decisions on this list, the Angels are listed zero times.  The only good decision that I can think of of the top of my head is picking up Kevin Frandsen off of waivers. 

Young Mark Teixeira had a weird response to Kurt Cobain's death - Big League Stew - Yahoo! Sports
The problem with being famous is that there's a good chance that someone will eventually want to interview your parents about your formative days. There's also an equally good chance that your mother will reveal a particularly embarrassing tidbit from the days when confusion defined your self identity.

The first comment sums up this perfectly: "That's just creepy"

Game over for Edwin Encarnacion with Blue Jays - thestar.com
In a surprise move, the Blue Jays on Monday afternoon designated Edwin Encarnacion for assignment, meaning the third baseman’s days with the club are over. Toronto now has 10 days to either trade or send Encarnacion through waivers. If he clears – and no one claims him on the waiver wire – he can report to class AAA Las Vegas. But that doesn’t appear to be an option.

I know what you're thinking and the answer is no.  I said no.  NO!

Reds, Matthews talking - Cincinnati.Com
The Reds are talking to Gary Matthews Jr. about a minor league deal. "It’s not done yet," assistant GM Bob Miller said. "It will probably get done." Matthews, 35, was released by the New York Mets a week ago. He hit .190 with one RBI in 36 games with the Mets. He was traded from the Angels to the Mets in the offseason. Matthews’ father, Gary Sr., is one of Dusty Baker’s best friends in baseball.

Full Count " Gammons on Big Show: Manny ‘is not Dustin Pedroia’
I was watching a game with a general manager and I made the comment that I thought, watching him, that he believed he had never done anything, taken anything. And this person, who was a psychology major at an Ivy League school, said to me, "Well, you know, would you say, like a lot of professional athletes, that Roger’s a little self-absorbed?" And I said, "Yeah, there’s no question." He said, "One of the basic truisms about psychology is that people who are self-absorbed can become delusional." So I’m not really sure that Roger thinks that there’s anything wrong there.

I just thought that was interesting, and it explains a lot about some players, i.e, Barry Bonds.

Royals pitcher Bannister sees link between science, success - USATODAY.com
He will be less concerned about how many hits or runs he allowed than with terms such as PITCHf/x, BABIP and xFIP. And while Bannister's performance this season — 6-5 with a 5.70 ERA — will not get him confused with Strasburg, the 29-year-old is unique in another way, as the only pitcher using the newest technology and latest advanced statistics to seek an edge and, in his case, possibly keep alive a major league career. "I'm almost the prototype No. 4 starter," says Bannister, who has a 36-43 record in less than five major league seasons. "When this is important is trying to get a fringe guy to get the most out of his talent and ability. I'm not trying to reach new horizons. I'm trying to filter out what's applicable to player development. That's what's important to me."

This is what make the study of baseball statistics meaningful, not the "but he hits .346 on Tuesday nights against left-handers.  We are so going to win the division!"

For you, Dad: McDonald homers in first AB since father's death - Big League Stew - Yahoo! Sports
Indeed, it's hard not to wipe away a tear or two while watching McDonald round the bases after hitting a two-run homer off Jeremy Affeldt(notes) in a 9-6 loss to the Giants. The blast came only two days after McDonald buried his father, who had passed away from a tough battle with liver cancer earlier in the week. That it happened on Father's Day during John's first at-bat since Jack McDonald's death only added to the emotion. John pointed toward the sky after crossing home plate.

Nice story.

June 22 - BR Bullpen
1993 - White Sox backstop Carlton Fisk surpasses Bob Boone catching his 2,226 game to become the all-time leader.
Happy b-day:
1966 - Rob Neyer, writer