Halos Heaven

Another day, another Halolinks:

• As several people pointed out in the yeswecan's Fanshot (Trumbo's Return Delayed - Halos Heaven), the Angels might want to look into another foot specialist: Rehab to take longer than expected for Angels slugger Mark Trumbo - angels.com. Although Trumbo doesn't think there's a concern about being ready for spring training, Angel fans are a little gun-shy after living through the Kendrys Morales ankle debacle. "Trumbo stressed that this latest development is in no way a setback -- more of a realization to just how serious the injury is and how unrealistic his previous expectations were." Within the post is video of Trumbo actually hurting his foot. I'd never seen it, and still don't see how he hurt it. Oh, and best comment in the HH thread, "By then he will be called Marks" by Brody
• So, am I to assume that this Albert Pujols guy is pretty good? Five active surefire Hall of Famers - CBSSports.com. A couple tidbits from the post, "In his 11 seasons, he's won three MVPs and finished in the top five 10 times. ...his .617 slugging percentage ranks him fourth ever. Only Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Lou Gehrig had a higher mark." I wondered what happened in the one season he wasn't a top 5 finisher in MVP votes. In 2007, Pujols finished 9th in MVP voting. That season he hit 32 home runs and a slash line of .327/.429/.997 in 679 plate apearances. Oh, and a OPS+ of 157. Slacker.
  

• This is one of the greatest posts. Ever. The Greatest Animated Sports GIFs Of 2011 - SBNation.com. It would've been the lead link in today's post, but if I had put the below GIF on the front page, no one would read the other articles. (I cant's stop watching it!)
  
  

• Oh, this is going to be good...One writer’s Hall of Fame vote, Part 1 - The Orange County Register. Earl Bloom reveals his HOF ballot. "My ballot will be revealed in three posts in the next three days (because I have nothing else to write about), each one covering three of the nine players I ended up voting for." Spoiler alert: He didn't vote for Tim Salmon, and as the only commenter mentions, "I remember a Los Angeles Sports writer not supporting Matt Kemp, for MVP. Now an Orange County Register sports writer cannot support one of Anaheim's finest hometown baseball heroes! What's up with your 10th vote, couldn't use it? Maybe that vote and your story of admiration of Tim's loyalty and great accomplishments while working his entire career in Anaheim might have sold a few more subscriptions." While I don't believe Salmon is a hall of famer, I do agree throwing a vote his way would've been a cool thing to do.
  
• Major League Baseball’s New Years Resolutions – NextGen Journal. "Los Angeles Angels – Regain AL West Dominance Welcome Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson to the city of angels! The offseason’s biggest winner has no excuse but to win now. End of story." We'll get right on that.
  
• Remember when he was the Angels TV color guy? Torre quits MLB executive post to pursue bid to buy Dodgers - CBSSports.com. ""I have made this decision because of a unique chance to join a group that plans to bid for the Dodgers," Torre said in a statement."
• There's always next year: Rangers likely to settle on one-year deal with catcher Mike Napoli - MLB.com. "They are still discussing long-term contracts for certain players they have identified as being ones they want to keep for an extended period of time. Catcher Mike Napoli, who can be a free agent after this season, is one of those players, but a long-term extension is not likely at this point. General manager Jon Daniels admitted Wednesday afternoon that the two sides were too far apart and most likely it will be a one-year deal for Napoli, who is eligible for arbitration."
• Q&A: Bud Black: Pitching at Petco - FanGraphs Baseball. I've often wondered the same thing: "DL: Is bullpen depth as important as back-of-the rotation depth?"
• I'm assuming there was some sort of translation breakdown in Ichiro's quote: Ichiro Felt 'Mental Stress' Last Year - NYTimes.com. ""Yes my skin gets dry but it's a lame conclusion to blame everything on age. People are quick to point to age. Those kinds of people don't interest me." Dry skin in Seattle? Go stand out in the rain.
  
• Finally: Minor League Leaderboards: New Features! - FanGraphs Baseball